July 7, 2010
Dear Family and
Friends,
This was not a day we had expected or
planned. Most surprising was the drizzle and fog we woke up to this morning.
Gray pea soup outside. We couldn’t see our meadow from the bedroom as we lay in
bed with our coffee this morning. The thermometer read 48°—very un-July like
weather. We know we need the moisture, especially with high fire danger
throughout the state. The grass had been crunching and the scent of dried pine
needles had been strong underfoot along our road and trails. It is in the spirit
of green meadows and reducing the risk of fire danger that we accept the
occasional grumpy weather.
The other unanticipated event—a non-event really—is that we are home. A
month or so ago we had planned a two or three week road trip to the Canadian
Rockies after July 4th. But important social and medical commitments have made a
road trip in July next to impossible. So, July will pass and we will likely have
been here most of the time. (The one positive in this stay-at-home summer is we
get to enjoy our gardens for a change, and watch the complete Tour de France
which we would have missed if we were in the RV.)
So
while we look ahead to the summer remaining, looking back to the past spring
reminds us that our life in the mountains continues to be, at any time of the
year, as good as we’d hoped for when we retired here over 18 years ago, time in
our lives filled with interesting surprises, good friends, and satisfying and
rewarding activity.
INTERESTING SURPRISES
Heart Repair. Of course
the biggest surprise occurred at the end of March when Hughes had four stents
placed in two coronary arteries in two separate procedures. A few weeks later he
had his carotid arteries checked and found they were in good shape. He seemed to
recover pretty easily from the stent implant procedures and followed that with
eight weeks of cardiac rehab three days a week (monitored treadmill and bicycle
exercise). Though he could have continued with the therapy program for an
additional four weeks, he seemed to be making only slight but steady progress
with no observable issues. He often did another hour of bike riding in the
Boulder area. On the days when he didn’t have therapy sessions, he added more
logs to the wood piles, cut them all into 17" lengths and began splitting them,
a task he has not quite finished. When done, we’ll have about five cords ready
for at least two more winters. This is our 18th year of gathering, cutting,
limbing, splitting, and stacking wood for heat, and we still gain a lot of
satisfaction in the process.
A Dirty Trick. Mother’s
Day came and passed with the promise of spring’s reawakening, the greening of
the world around us. The aspens were beginning to leaf out, the pasqueflowers
had emerged from the hard soil of winter, and hummingbirds had flocked to our
feeders. In many parts of the country, Mother’s Day is thought of as a safe and
appropriate time to plant gardens. Not here. Five days later, a late spring snow
storm caught us off-balance; in two days the snow blocked our drive, broke
branches under the weight of 18" of wet snow, and pushed us inside for the rest
of the week. We should never be surprised at what the weather might be: since we
lived here, we’ve had snow every month except August. Still, we cling to old
weather rhythms and patterns learned from living in the east and Midwest for so
many years.
Visitors. We enjoyed
two guests this spring: the first a former doctoral student of Hughes’s, Leslie
Prosak-Beres, who has had an outstanding career as Professor of Education at
Xavier University in Cincinnati. She was in Denver for a retreat at Regis
College and came early to spend a few days with us before her main event. In
addition to catching up with family news and with colleagues in common, we
slow-hiked the edge of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, lunched at Boulder’s
historic Chautauqua dining hall, and gave her an inside look at downtown
Nederland.
We had anticipated
Leslie’s visit for the previous six months. Our other visitor came out of the
blue: David Delo had gone to Antioch with us and graduated with Hughes in 1962.
We parted after college and had lost touch until, as David explained, he thought
about some of his old dorm mates and tracked us down via the internet to see
what we were up to. He discovered that we lived a half-day drive from his home
in Delta, Colorado, and when he emailed “Hello,” we made the invite immediately.
David and Hughes had done a lot of things together—sang together in a quartet,
performed in a college musical production of “The Boyfriend,” and shared
quarters in the same dorms for the first two years on campus. They even recalled
drinking a few beers together at the Old Trail Tavern in downtown Yellow Springs
from time to time. Can you imagine!?
He stayed just
one night—not nearly long enough for the three of us to completely bridge the
gap of nearly 50 years—but we gave it a good try. David, who is a gifted and
successful writer, historian, and artist, came with copies of three of the books
he’s authored and a beautiful pen and ink drawing, which we’ll frame and proudly
add to our art collection. We spent most of our time filling each other in about
what directions our lives had taken since college. David won the prize for the
most twists and turns in life. We parted leaving much more ground to cover and,
therefore, lots of good excuses to reconnect again in the near future.
[Note: The group gathered
around the piano is celebrating Hughes’s birthday in 1960. This faded and aging photo is
from an ancient 3x5 print Hughes found in an envelope of old photos; the scanned
image shows its age. David is leaning in to the right of the piano player; Judy
is still in New Hope finishing high school. In case you are
uncertain,
Hughes is in the gray sweater behind the piano player. He remembers the names of
everyone in the photo save for two familiar faces to which he cannot put names.
He also does not remember who took the photo, nor what has happened to most of
the folks in the photo. If you are in the picture, or know something about
someone who is, we hope you’d contact us. We’d love to hear from
you.]
GETTING THINGS DONE
If Hughes’s heart attack slowed him down some—and
it has just a bit—Judy seemed to have uncovered boundless energy. She really got
things done this spring!
New Beds. On our Alaska trip we saw a home in
Sitka with a flower bed built around a tree in their front yard: a real brass
bed with a wood frame that held the flowers up off the ground. Judy had the idea
some time ago and seeing one set up spurred her to make one herself. For a
couple of years we have shopped around for a a pair of brass beds for ourselves:
one for flowers and one for vegetables. Not only would they be attractive, but
we thought it might help to keep the critters away from fresh flowers and tasty
veggies. Last year we found both, built frames for each, and this spring filled
each with rich soil, fertilizer, and peat moss. Judy began planting, covering
the veggies with a cloth to protect against the harsh sunlight and to help keep
insects out. The result has been fresh spinach, lettuces, arugula, and snow peas
on demand. And we’ve been home enough to enjoy the fruits of her
efforts.
New Volunteer Work. Lucy
has not yet developed the attitudes and skills required of a hospital therapy
dog, so Judy has not been making her weekly rounds at Boulder Community
Hospital. She misses the chance to do patient visits. She and Lucy have been
going to a number of different group dog training classes and even some private
one-on-one sessions with a dog trainer. Lucy almost always performs beautifully,
but has also shown an unpredictable nature that warns Judy that she can’t be
trusted to meet and greet all people in a friendly manner all the time. Learning
what the issue(s) might be and how to deal with the problem remains a puzzle,
though Judy continues weekly sessions with her. That’s Wednesday mornings.
In the meantime, Judy’s become well known and respected by the hospital
staff such that when an opening came up for someone to work the front desk of
the main hospital, they asked Judy if she was interested (on a part-time
volunteer basis). That’s Monday
mornings.
Nederland is now the location of one
of the most charming and original carousels in the country. It opened on
Memorial Day weekend after 25 years of carving (34 original animals and one
mermaid), mechanical restoration, and constructing the building that houses the
carousel year round. Judy thinks the Carousel of
Happiness is the greatest place in the world to work, and she’d love to sell
you tickets when you come to town ($1/ride and all profits go to charity!). Like
the folks who come and take a ride (or two or three), she leaves each day with a
smile on her face. That’s Wednesday
afternoons.
Hughes continues to meet and greet
folks at the Nederland Visitors Center, enjoying each and every day. The pace is
suited to a fellow recovering from heart surgery and, besides, he usually rides
his bike the five miles to and from town. The hills help keep him fit. That's Tuesday afternoons.
Hitting the Roads and Bike
paths. Speaking of bicycles, both of us bought new bikes this spring. It
started with Judy urging Hughes to get one that he can use for “keeping fit.”
Not another mountain bike, but one a bit lighter and more comfortable to ride
(i.e., it fits him better, keeps him in a more upright position befitting a man
of his age and dignity, and can soften some of the minor bumps on the paved
roads). He found a very gently used Trek 7500
that is like moving up from a used pickup to a Buick. Judy, whose claims the
mountain bike she has had never did fit her properly, decided she needed a new
one also. So she shopped the internet, found what she wanted, and waited for a
terrific sale on a new Trek FX 7.3 that
she not only can lift with one hand, but sits as comfortably on it as she does
her rocking chair. She loves it—and Hughes loves his. Road trips will be all the
more enjoyable with two new bikes that fit and are a pleasure to ride. Hughes
and Michael (who has taken up biking for exercise and fitness with a vengence—20
miles a day!!) began a Father’s Day tradition with a hour’s ride down in his
part of the county where bicycles ride on flat bike paths instead of hilly dirt
roads. Judy joined them that day when she was done running and together they put
in another easy six miles.
RUNNING
Judy’s spring running schedule has been modest this
spring. She decided not to join a training group in preparation for the Bolder
Boulder 10K as she has done in the past (she suffered occasional injuries that
put her on the DL for that year’s Bolder-Boulder). She figured that weekly runs
on Sunday with the Boulder
Roadrunners, weekly Saturday runs with an informal group who call themselves
“The Purple Runners,” and
3–4 days of running on her own up here at altitude would get her into shape to
perform well at the Bolder
Boulder Memorial Day 10K. She was right. Once again she won her age group
(this year by 3½ minutes) as she has each time she’s entered (we’ve lost
official count of how many). Her training must have been appropriate: she lost
only one minute over her time two years ago (she was injured last year).
However, at age 68 she’s at the upper end of age
groupings at most races, which generally use 5-year or 10-year age groups
depending upon the number of runners (for the Bolder Boulder, with over 50,000
runners, awards are based upon a runner’s age; this year Judy beat out 76 other
women who were 68 years old). As a result, this spring she placed second in the
Boulder Distance
Carnival 5K and the Joe
Colton’s Off Road 5 Mile Run, both won by younger members of the 60–69 age
group. She did win her age group and a case of beer (a practical alternative to
another medal) at the 4 on the
4th sponsored by Avery Brewing in Boulder. She can’t wait to hit 70 when
she’ll be the youngster in her new age group.
In
addition to training runs up here, Judy has taken Lucy running with her on
shorter runs on Ridge Road (about 2 miles) since Lucy seems to have near
boundless energy. Judy keeps her on a three foot stretch leash that gives the
dog some flexibility while still keeping her under control in traffic. Bella
would have enjoyed that also when she was four or five, but not at the ripe old
age of ten.
A GRADUATION IN THE FAMILY
We were a little surprised this year
to find ourselves with a grandchild graduating from high school. Where did the
time go? How did it pass so quickly? The event reminded us that everyone around
us is getting older! Of course we wanted to be witness to this life changing
event. We flew back east in June for a long weekend to help celebrate Griffin’s
high school graduation from Thayer Academy.
Thayer was founded in 1877 in Braintree as a coed
college prep day school with traditions that reach back to the 19th century.
Like many New England prep schools, Thayer emphasizes achievement in
scholarship, athletics, and the arts, and Griff worked to live up to those
traditions. He was one of 23 students in a class of 116 who were members of the
Cum Laude Society and was on the high
honor roll each semester. He earned three varsity letters each in tennis and
cross-country, won the Latin Award four years in a row, was awarded the Brown
Book Award for outstanding writing, and an wrote an award-winning article the
award-winning school literary magazine, Voice. If all this sounds like grandparent
boasting, well, it is. We're very proud of what he has accomplished. He should
continue his achievement at Wake Forest University beginning this fall.
We spent two mornings attending Thayer ceremonies.
“Last Chapel” is a time to honor faculty, for undergraduate award presentations,
and to hear last words of wisdom from a faculty member chosen by the students
(he was excellent). The next morning was an outdoor graduation ceremony with
student speakers (who were outstanding) and a guest speaker who was a graduate
of Thayer years before. Griffin received his Latin Prize and his diploma, which
Dan presented as a parent-trustee. Julia participated as member of the student
choir who performed during the ceremonies. We could not have been more proud of
them both. After the formal ceremonies, we waited with Dan, Debra, and Dan’s
parents who live in nearby Hingham, while Griff and Julia mingled with fellow
students and faculty.
In addition to graduation, we
attended a concert in which Julia sang solos and accompanied herself on the
piano. She showed real poise on stage, as well as her blooming talent which she
has worked on for several years. She has always participated in Thayer theater
productions, both dramas and musicals. She’ll be a junior there in the fall. We
were glad to finally have a chance to see her show her talents in
person.
As if all those festivities were not
sufficient, Debra and Dan treated us to a home-cooked lobster dinner, and what a
treat it was! The icing on the cake for the weekend was a Sunday afternoon ball
game at Fenway Park, one of the truly great ball parks in the county. Deb and
Dan are among the fortunate to have seats behind the dugout four rows back from
the field in potential foul ball area. The Sox lost to Philadelphia, but it
didn’t spoil a great afternoon.
SPRING
MISCELLANY
We still continue to enjoy our
bridge-playing friends in the area. The Nederland duplicate group has managed to
find ways to meet on a monthly basis despite travel plans that each of us have;
with only one member still holding down a full time job, the rest of us like to
go places. While it’s easy to get up a foursome on the spur of the moment,
getting eight together remains a challenge.
The Barker Dam Brass Band made a return appearance in the Nederland 4th of
July parade and performed to the delight and applause of the hundreds
(thousands?) who lined the street. Granted the band is the only musical group in
the parade, and we do play stirring patriot music, sassy blues tunes, and
drinking songs. But the crowds recognize the quality and their enthusiasm
remains high. We go around the parade route twice and are always greeted the
second time with even louder applause and shouts of encouragement.
The reading list of the Mystery Book Club (always
available by request) has selected some real clunkers the past few months.
However, if you’re seeking a high energy story with interesting characters,
intense drama, and an intriguing mystery with plenty of twists, we have all
agreed that the three-book series by Stieg Larsson beginning with The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo is about as good as it gets. (They are best read in order.) The
first book has been out as a movie for several months (in Swedish with English
subtitles) and the second movie adaptation (The Girl who Played with
Fire) is due out shortly. Those of us who read the first book and saw the
movie agreed the movie adaptation was worthy of the book. None of the books is
for the skittish or easily offended, but they each will satisfy those who come
seeking a white-knuckle emotional ride.
That’s it from the mountains. The snows have melted, the gray-soup sky days will
soon give way to warm, blue sky days, and the wildflowers are just about at
their peak. It is a great time to visit. Thanks to those of you who keep in
touch. It means a lot to us to hear from you and what you and your family are up
to.
Best Wishes,
Judy and
Hughes
